North West of Bay side, Brunswick village is the hip and up and coming neighborhood with small restaurants, coffee shops and corner stores. The old rail road once went through Brunswick but was decommissioned in the late 40s, now the Caboose and a few of the older passenger cars serve as a quint restaurant and hang out, called "The Tug"

There was a little gym in Brunswick Village that Ruth found through yelp that had a really nice membership fee of "free". Ruth liked it for the privacy and the relative closeness it was to where she was staying at. Right now she was just punching a bag, knowing that she looked a bit silly, this buck ten girl trying to make this big bag move. Well...yea, she agreed. Still...it felt nice to take her aggression out on something that wouldn't yell at her or worse, lecture at her.

In truth, it was strange being in a new city that was also an old city. New Haven was not the place it was when she was a child, that was for sure - the changes that had taken it's toll on the place were vast and manied, but it was her perspective that had changed as well. Instead of seeing a city, she saw a vast battle ground which laid wet with the dark waters of secrets given glamour-bound form. An infinite world of discoveries to be reached towards and grasped - of dangers to face and overcome.

For all that had changed, Rose had been surprised to find this old gym still here. Or was it the same gym that she remembered? It was possible that it had been bought out a few times while she'd been away, she'd not taken the time to know the ownership or what changed, but she did remember a gym that had been in Brunswick.

She walks in, dressed in jeans and a black tank top, jacket covering that, and takes a moment to look around. Shimmering eyes take a note of how large it is and - the answer isn't much. She sighs, and makes her way through until she sees the shadow of a cloudbased form, familiar in it's dark tones. She looks at the other 'angel' - not quite the same of course, but still interesting in her own right. Taking note of her form and skills, the loud noises grating against her ears.

Ruth LaHaye has rolled an Float like a cloud, hit...also like a cloud. roll (3 dice), getting 1, 6, 7, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Ruth LaHaye has failed the roll.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

Her punches are weak and unfocused, almost weightless, but the intensity is there...well, it could be. And it does look like she's thrown a punch before...once. Mostly, Ruth was just bruising her knuckles as she took a step back and shook her hands, visibly frustrated. Or was it because she spotted the other angel in town. "Hey...there!" Ruth gives the angel a smile and takes a swig of water, wondering which sister she'd meet today. Or was it Rose herself this time, hopefully in a better mood?

I'd hardly consider that knowing how to hold your fist. I'd say she's probably seen a scrap or two, but never learned where to start. Rose looked to Ruth and offered a smile, looking to the punching bag. "Punching Bag 1, Ruth 0 it looks like. How you doing?" In this enviroment, she had to call out, and someone slips due to the distraction and hits their head on something. Inside, Almvieg cackles, and Cassandra makes an 'oh my' statement.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

Ruth gave that quip a laugh in response. "Hah! Yea...well, other than being beaten up by this inanimate object, I'm...doing alright." Well, as well as any of them could do, she left unsaid. "How about you, Rose?"

"Been worse." She looked to her, and then said, "Met with a good few of the officials. Figured out where the rest of the others tend to hang. Got to meet my head honcho. Not sure what I think about him or the current system." She shrugged and then said, "All in all, my scoping out the town has been pret-ty rewarding."

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

"That's good," she said with a nod, drawing a blank when trying to think of who Rose's head honcho was (discounting the obvious). "So...I don't think I called you, did I? What brings you around to the Muscle Market?" Ruth didn't bother hiding her love for the place's name.

"No, you totally called me. Don't you remember?" She said, tilting her head. She grinned and winked after a moment, just to see if Ruth fell into that trap, before saying, "All seriousness, I was passing by and saw the place. Had some old memories I wanted to explore, and see what secrets hid beneath the floorboards. It just so happens I ran into you as a result. Fate is funny like that."

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

"I did? But...Haaaaaaa." Ruth grinned and shook a finger at her...damn, when did Rose become this chill? "Good one. Well, I think most of the secrets are roaches, but I guess it's been around for a while. Certainly looks it."

"Well it is a cheap gym," She said, moving to settle herself by one of the punching bags. "I can't imagine the revenue is all that great given the price of admission. Probably gets money through classes - buuuut if you don't take classes... well." She started to punch the punching bag, and then paused. "Of course, maybe he charges the guys..."

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

"Probably both. He really hasn't said much to me since I've started going here...actually I'm not even sure if Mr. Wallis is even here right now, he sometimes steps out for a few." She walks over to the short hall that leads to the lobby..."yep, he stepped out." She walked back on over to Rose, watching her punch. "So, I know you and one of your sisters knows how to throw down, so...how bad am I?"

Rose crosses her arms, and considers her words, before looking at Ruth and shrugging. "Not bad. Not good either. You'd not last against a trained professional, but then again most people aren't trained professionals. In a real fight, where you are risking your life, there are a lot more elements to take into consideration than your knowledge of how to fight - such as your enviroment, or anything that could be used as a weapon. Some girls carry things like pepper spray, which can even the odds if the opponent is stronger than you. And, of course, guns are the great equalizer."

Even if Ruth herself likely couldn't buy or use a gun. "You could learn to hold your fists right though. You are going to do more damage to yourself that way than to your opponent."

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

"Yea...well...most girls don't consider running up walls as an option," she smirks, thinking of that one really weird contract with the dream spider that...wasn't a dream. Or maybe it was? She hadn't used it much, but she could see how it could be handy in a fight. "I could do spray on demand, but that's...pretty draining. So...I could learn how to hold my fists right." She holds them up, giving Rose a nonverbal invitation, with an implied please. "It's either you or the old guy."

She chuckled and then said, "Ah but my lessons aren't free. They always come with a payment." She reached over, and moved to take Ruths hands. "Let's see... like... this."

She shows Ruth her hand, balled into a proper fist, and then said, "When you strike, you also want to not swing so much. Instead, thrust forward, using the momentum of your body to push you forward." She motioned to the punching bag. "Go ahead and give it a try."

Ruth Instructed Punch:

Ruth LaHaye has rolled an How tuff is this cloud? +1 instruction bonus roll (4 dice), getting 2, 8, 5, 10, 8, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Ruth LaHaye has 3 successes.Ruth LaHaye has rolled an Rote? roll (1 dice), getting 1, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Ruth LaHaye has failed the roll.Ruth LaHaye has rolled an Rote? roll (1 dice), getting 6, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Ruth LaHaye has failed the roll.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

Ruth nodded and followed Rose's advice and went at the bag again, only this time her punches actually sounded like punches, and the bag swayed...quite a bit, actually.

"Haven't decided yet. We'll come back to that. Payment happens later - you need the training now." She looked at the bag and grinned, and then said, "Go ahead and keep at it. Try to get a rhythm, and make it a happen to strike that way. A lot of combat is muscle memory - so if you get used to fighting the wrong way, you will. If, however, you get used to a proper technique then..."

She watched as Ruth continued to work on her technique, and moved herself to the side. She breathed in, and centered herself, then began to punch her own punching bag. Ruth probably couldn't tell, but without the contracts and agreements that she'd made with the various aspects of combat, Rose herself was not that much more skilled than Ruth - diversified, yes, combat trained, yes - but in a brawl she might be able to do a thing or two. It's one of the reasons Rose needed to improve herself - one couldn't rely on oaths to defeat a person just to use fate to boost yourself in a fight, after all. "Most of your enemies..." She said, moving for another punch. "Aren't going to stay still. Of course, neither should you - but at a certain point of fighting, learning to defend yourself becomes more instinct than training."

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

For a few minutes, the two worked their respective bags. For Ruth at least, it was an exercise in channeling out that fire within her that was usually reserved for being loud, except in a disciplined manner. Soon though, she stopped to watch Rose who at least looked like she knew what she was doing. "So...I'm guessing you did more than a few schoolyard brawls. Did...your sisters teach you?" Or the other possible teacher, she asked with her tone.

"It's... hard to explain here. Remember that thing about muscle memory?" She asked, looking to Ruth as though trying to express something without actually... saying it.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

So she probably didn't know, Ruth concluded. "Ah. Right." Maybe one of her was in the military or a boxer for all either of them knew. Ruth then looked over to the ring..."So...he does keep some sparring gear, and it's clean. I checked. I think one of your sisters said something about 'you gotta fight someone to really know them?" She smiled to Rose, then looked away as she remembered her own fight with Ester, who had a mean ass right punch. "Well, maybe I won't get a split lip this time. But I'm willing to risk it."

She laughed at Ruth, and said, "If you want to give it a whirl, I'm up for it. I'll hold back a little for ya though - it's not a real fight, so no need to bring out the tools of war." She motioned for her to grab the gear with a smirk.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

After putting on their gear and stepping into the ring, Ruth took a look at her clad hands. Having something to cover her fists would be handy...what were those metal knuckle things called?

Rose idly made a half jump, half levitate motion into the ring, landing idly and delicately onto the ground. It was strange, looking at her there. If Ruth had not seen her in her full combat gear, it'd be hard to see this girl as much of a fighter - even with the way that the gear and headset perfectly settle against her, almost blazing with the sheer force of the Wyrd around her. She smiled, and made a 'bring it on' motion with her hands.

Ruth Initiative:

Ruth LaHaye has rolled an Iniative +7 roll (1 dice), getting 10, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Ruth LaHaye has 1 success. This roll did not use the 10-again rule.

Rose Initiative:

Rose has rolled an Initiative +5 roll (1 dice), getting 10, 3, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Rose has 1 success.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

Ruth didn't look like much of a fighter herself, but unlike Rose, she didn't have the backing of the Wyrd behind her. She did however, have a small smile for Rose before she shot off like a strong gust.

Ruth Brawl:

Ruth LaHaye- 17 has rolled an Brawl 3+1+WP3-6 roll (1 dice), getting 1, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Ruth LaHaye- 17 has failed the roll.

Rose didn't strike at that moment - instead, she watched Ruth's movements, and swayed to the side - an easy, deft movement - her eyes shifting cerulean. She cracks her neck, and then smiles. "A little bit more focus, Ruth."

Her punch slides by Rose as the other angel simply slides out of the way. She grunts as the dark angel takes the advice and goes after Rose with a series of jabs, trying to incorporate the advice she'd gotten earlier. Ruth does notice that Rose is quite still when she goes at her...otherwise she wouldn't really have a chance to connect anything.

All Out Attack:

Rose has rolled an All Out Attack + Willpower 3 roll (5 dice), getting 5, 4, 9, 1, 9, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Rose has 2 successes.

It wasn't that she particularly made herself still - it was that she moved so fast that it was easy to tell where she was going - she takes the punch, rather than avoiding it, so that she can move and strike Ruth fast and hard, giving more than she took in the assault.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

Even through the headgear and protective padding, Ruth felt that blow and felt it hard. She was thrown off, struggling to keep her wits about her.

She crouches down, holding back, not really sure if she could win a fair fight against Rose now. (rolling Dodge-1)

Seeing the Cloud based creature take a step, Rose lunges for the opportunity - floating right past her and having to do a full roll to the side to avoid losing her step - she smirked at Ruth, and waited for the inevitable followup.

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

While that one was easy to dodge, Ruth knew she was outclassed by her. Rose (or whichever sister was in charge at the moment) wasn't a Jackie Chan or anything like that, but she was still better. More importantly, she was much better at dodging Ruth's weak attacks without much effort. Maybe if she went all out, but that would leave her open for Rose's retaliation, wouldn't it?

While Ruth remains in (what she thought was) a fighting stance, she bites her lip in thought. "I can't win this fairly, can I?" There was an emphases on fair, part of those new instincts that had Ruth appreciating the dark and the lost more than before.

"I don't think so. More than likely, you'd continue to attack me until you exhausted yourself or slipped, in which case I'd take advantage to that. I did leave myself open a few times for you, and that would be an unwise move - underestimating you, perhaps, but also a risk taken to speed the fight." She paused and then said, "No true fight is fair though."

Ruth LeHayes

Wyrd (Low) | Presence 3 | Melodic Voice

"Yea, but let's face it, my hands are tied with our restriction." She thought about it for a moment...she didn't know exactly what Rose could do, but considering they were an angel of war, lots of fire and light would be involved. "Well, I still might loose, but...I dunno." She looks around at their little arena. "I really am at a disadvantage in the open like this."

Rose looked to Ruth, and looked around. "If you'd like to go somewhere else for a different kind of fight, that's fine. That said, if you can manage what you need to without drawing unnecessary attention that's fine too." Leaving it a bit open - no flinging fire from your hands, but subtle magic worked wonders didn't it? She cracked her neck, and then said, "Fields open."

"That so?" With a grin, Ruth took a deep breath and exhaled...and kept exhaling as the contract was invoked and the air rushed up and around her. Her subtle halo turned black as the focused windstorm started to shimmer and take the light with it, blinding Rose.

[Rose now has the Blinded (-5 on vision rolls and no defense) tilt and Heavy Winds tilt (-3 to hearing, -2 on physical rolls)]

Rose smirked as the darkness began to follow her, and then breathed in - calling upon her contracts to fill her body - she could feel herself beginning to strenthen, her natural insticts kicking in - the contracts of brute force. A second effect comes up, almost immediately in the same breath - this one requires more conscious thought while the first is intuitive - grace, poise, elegance all embody her, and she can almost feel the wind as she flows with it. She looks to the gloves she wears, and breaths in. She smirks, and makes the same come forth motion, only now she doesn't know where her enemy lies - only that she must face her. As she does, she focuses on the gear that they were wearing - the gloves that she had that were designed both to effectively punch and ultimately protect her hands when she did - wondering where the blow would come from.

Ruth could see through her own darkness (well, the kind generated by her contract anyway), and she could see Rose smiling like the perfect bitch that she is. Ruth grunted as she balled her fists and went in. The air parted and flowed around Ruth as she approached Rose from behind and to the left, and went to knock her on her noggin. It was a shame to strike someone so beautiful...like really, Rose looked exceptionally stunning as her holy light almost pushed back Ruth's blinding windstorm. Her strike went true, but she noticed that she was also wide open as she almost sprawled to the ground herself.

She feels Ruth more than she sees her. She feels the weave of the wind before it its, and the blow that connects - she immediately moves with a speed that's far from human, grabbing the arm that hit her and pulling her - the rest of this doesn't involve much sight - it just involves knowing how the human body moves - she can do that without any sight at all. Perhaps she should have held back a little - perhaps not - she twists ruth by the arm, and pulls her close - Rose's head comes forward and connects, slamming against Ruth with a force and power that no human should be able to muster - she could feel the blood splashing against her face as bone cracked beneath the force, and could almost hear Cassandra screaming in slow motion 'noooooo'.

The windstorm ends abruptly as Ruth staggers and falls onto the floor as blood streams from her nose. She looks up at the angel in...respect? Kinda. Then the pain started registering to her weird air brain and she snorts into her hand, covering it with a dripping mist that slowly oozes from her hand."Yea, I think you win," Ruth exclaims as she shifts to a more comfortable position, trying to get her head to stop spinning. She then looks at the oozing mist with a mixture of curiosity and a little bit of shock. "Fucking fuck, is that what my blood looks like now?"

Dramatically Failed Stamina Roll:

Ruth LaHaye- 17 has rolled an Stamina! roll (2 dice), getting 2, 5, with a difficulty of 8 on a 10 sided die. Ruth LaHaye- 17 has failed the roll.

Rose blinks as she comes to her senses, and suddenly realizes what has happened. Her eyes become sharpened, and she reaches out - just as Ruth's eyes roll backwards at the sight of her own blood and she starts to shimmer. In a moment, Ruth is gone before she even touches the ground, leaving only the deep red mist on the ground. Rose blinks.

Oh. Oh shit. Um...

Well this was just... peachy keen. Suddenly the three sisters begin to panic. Well, two sisters. The other is making jokes about how that isn't fair, if she vanished they can't empty her pockets for loose change. Rose breaths, starting to hyper ventilate. Oh god. She just wanted to show the girl how to fight - spar with her a bit, get a lesson involved. She didn't mean to do... this.

Unless she was comatose. Then it's a permanent dream. What happens if she just knocked Ruth comatose in what was supposed to be a Mock battle? She didn't even have the opportunity to grab a hedge fruit and deliver it, to make sure that Ruth healed properly! The three of them fight for a while, before Almvieg screams out, "ENOUGH!"

"Fighting between ourselves isn't going to get anywhere. Yeah, we knocked her out. Yeah, the bitch probably got a little bit of what she deserved, but in the end it's our fault she's knocked out. Now you two can either SIT HERE panicking, or you can fucking DO something about it. God. Act like you've never played medic before."

The two others are silent, and Almvieg sighs. There is the rustling of glamour and the wyrd as her form shifts to a new one, a different girl, a different Mask - but the same one. She clenches her fist, and then smiles. "Relax. We can manage this. First, we need to figure out if somethings actually wrong. She could just reappear in a few hours, for all we know. Just... give me a moment to think." She breathed in, and then looked to the ring. Moments pass, with nothing happening - until finally, she says, "Alright. This is what we're going to do."